Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In general, a communication network may be arranged to serve a plurality of user equipment devices (UEs) such as telephones, computers, appliances, and other devices, whether through wired and/or wireless connections, to provide the UEs with access to a transport network such the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or the Internet and/or to enable the UEs to communicate with each other or with other entities. To facilitate this, the communication network may include a plurality of network controllers that manage various aspects of UE connectivity and service. In operation, a UE may be served by a given one of these network controllers, such as a controller that is arranged to serve UEs in a particular location, subnet, or the like where the UE is operating.
A specific example of this, in the wireless realm, is a network arranged in accordance with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol. Such a network may include a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs) that function as controllers to facilitate setup and management of bearers through which UEs can engage in data communication, to facilitate tracking and status of UEs throughout the LTE network, and to facilitate paging of UEs for incoming communications. Each MME may be arranged to serve as a network controller for one or more portion of the LTE network known as tracking areas, each of which may include a number of LTE base stations known as eNodeBs arranged to provide wireless coverage for UEs. Thus, an MME may be considered to serve the UEs that are operating within coverage of an eNodeB in a tracking area served by the MME. Other examples of controllers in an LTE network are possible as well, as are assorted types of controllers in other types of networks.
In any such network, when a controller serves a UE, the controller may store a context record for the UE. Such a context record may include information that helps the controller serve the UE, such as data specifying a subscription profile for the UE, data specifying capabilities of the UE, and data specifying service status of the UE such as particular bearers or other connections that are established for the UE. The controller may then make use of that context record while serving the UE. For example, if the UE seeks to engage in a particular type of communication, the controller may refer to the UE's context record to determine if that type of communication is authorized by the UE's subscription profile and if so may allow the communication. As another example, in a wireless realm, as the UE transitions between an active or “connected” mode in which the UE has an assigned radio link and an “idle” mode in which the UE does not have an assigned radio link, the controller may receive signaling indicative of that transition and may update the UE's context record to indicate whether the UE is currently operating in the connected mode or in the idle mode.
As still another example, also in the wireless realm, as the UE transitions from being served by one base station to being served by another base station, the controller may receive signaling indicative of that transition and may manage transition of any bearer connections established for the UE and may update the UE's context record accordingly. And as yet another example, also in the wireless realm, as the UE moves between tracking areas, the controller may receive tracking area updates or registration messages and may update the UE's context record to indicate the tracking area in which the UE is currently operating. Further, as still another example, also in the wireless realm, the controller may receive signaling indicative of an incoming communication to be delivered to a UE, the controller may refer to the UE's context record to determine that the UE is currently operating in the idle mode and to determine the UE's current tracking area, and the controller may then direct one or more base stations of the UE's tracking area to page the UE so as to trigger transition of the UE to the connected mode in which the communication can be delivered to the UE. Numerous variations on these examples and other examples are possible as well.